When we explore and design personas in dynamic ways, they have the greatest potential to impact our organizations and the way we serve our customers. We can step into the stories and empathize with the characters that embody our customer research. Static personas that stay on the page and the shelf have limited value for your organization or your customer.

Customers are the center of our business. Building products and services catered to them is what we’re taught to do. But oftentimes we forget that customers are people first. Just looking at customers through the lens of our business means we can miss out on so many aspects of who our customers are. By looking at customers as people, with unique and nuanced parts of their lives, we can better cater to their needs as business owners.

As a human-centered design practice we are conscious of the interplay between people and technology. Design research requires our very human ability to empathize as we seek to understand people in cultural context. We primarily use AI as a supporter in our roles and offer two examples in this article.

Coaches help us uncover the tools we need to achieve our goals. As we get older, we have fewer opportunities to access built-in coaches. When we need an outside perspective and advice we have to put in the effort to find that person.